I went to a workshop today from 8:00am to 3:30pm, and it was a lot of fun. It is not normal for me to have a "fun" time at workshops, but it was nice to get back to educational work again. I am slowly starting to get the itch to teach again. This is a normal, annual reaction for me at this time in the summer. Plus, it was just nice to get up, go to Bruegger's with Noah, and get moving with some history talk. But this workshop also turned out to be a reunion of sorts.
For three years I was a member of the Master Teacher's Corps (MTC), a group of history teachers that developed lessons and content for a TAH (Teaching American History) federal grant. I made some great friendships while in this MTC, and maintain clase ties with many of these folks still. But at my workshop today, I was lucky enough to have three ol' MTC folks in with me. We all worked together, and went to lunch at Asheville Pizza. It was great to catch up.
Teaching can honestly be a pretty solitary profession. From about 8am - 3pm everyday, we generally shut our doors, and work with kids. We certainly see other faculty at meetings, in the hallways, lunch,etc - but overall we are independent. And it seems that most individuals who thrive in this job, are content with the above arrangement. Perhaps due to the prerequisite that if you want to be a teacher - you have to believe that you have something important to say, a confidence that makes a little isolation more acceptable, and maybe more controlled. I love shutting my classroom door and going to work. But I valued my membership in MTC as much as anything I have done outside the classroom, because the teachers with whom I was surrounded were inspirational and cool. Being a part of that group made we want ot improve, and I actively stole, and shared ideas. MTC was honestly a "community of educators." Seeing everyone for just one day was a breath of fresh air.
For three years I was a member of the Master Teacher's Corps (MTC), a group of history teachers that developed lessons and content for a TAH (Teaching American History) federal grant. I made some great friendships while in this MTC, and maintain clase ties with many of these folks still. But at my workshop today, I was lucky enough to have three ol' MTC folks in with me. We all worked together, and went to lunch at Asheville Pizza. It was great to catch up.
Teaching can honestly be a pretty solitary profession. From about 8am - 3pm everyday, we generally shut our doors, and work with kids. We certainly see other faculty at meetings, in the hallways, lunch,etc - but overall we are independent. And it seems that most individuals who thrive in this job, are content with the above arrangement. Perhaps due to the prerequisite that if you want to be a teacher - you have to believe that you have something important to say, a confidence that makes a little isolation more acceptable, and maybe more controlled. I love shutting my classroom door and going to work. But I valued my membership in MTC as much as anything I have done outside the classroom, because the teachers with whom I was surrounded were inspirational and cool. Being a part of that group made we want ot improve, and I actively stole, and shared ideas. MTC was honestly a "community of educators." Seeing everyone for just one day was a breath of fresh air.
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